Julie Ross
Job Title:
Concorde Infrastructure and Test Team Lead
Briefly describe your role:
I am responsible for managing the Glasgow Unix development and test infrastructure for the Concorde and Open Services teams. I am also responsible for dealing with any issues that arise in Concorde regression and system testing which is now carried out by an offshore team. Concorde is a global application with over 1000 users worldwide. All application development is completed in Glasgow with plan teams in New York and London.
What brought you to the ETC?
I am originally from Glasgow and thought that the opportunity to return to my home town and be part of a new start up was too good to miss.
I studied for a MEng degree at Strathclyde University. I started my career with JPMorgan on the graduate development programme in London in 1998. My first role was with Corporate Technology/Product Management, which eventually led on to a position within the Corsair development team. This gave me the opportunity to move to the ETC and return to Scotland to work. From this role I moved into testing with the STS application and then moved to the MOSS Test Team where I also spent a short 3 week spell in New York supporting DealStream.
I moved to the Concorde Test Centre in January 2001. Having developed my knowledge of Concorde over a 20 month period, I went back to New York to cover maternity leave for the New York Concorde Implementation Manager. I was given the option to remain in New York but decided to return to the ETC to manage the Concorde Test Centre. I later took on responsibility for the Infrastructure Team in addition to my Test Centre responsibilities.
First impressions of the ETC?
I attended the original launch event for the ETC and was very impressed with the office environment even although it was not as colourfully decorated at the time.
When I came to the ETC to work in December 1999 the offices had only very recently opened and had not been refurbished and all furniture was borrowed from London offices. The headcount was less than 20 with everyone working on different projects. I was not put off by this and found the community atmosphere welcoming, something which remains to this day even though we now have a center of more than 600 people with an excellent working environment.
Did you relocate? If so, where from?
I relocated from my JPMorgan role in London.
How do you ‘make a difference’ in your work?
Having worked in the ETC for 6 years, I have an excellent understanding of JPMorgan processes and procedures. I have worked in larger, more established locations for the company and can bring my experience to the ETC to help raise it’s visibility on a global scale.
Where do you commute from?
I live in the heart of Glasgow and have at most a 20 minute walk to work each day.
Are there outside activities/pursuits you can do now you are in the ETC and couldn’t do before?
I spend my weekends on the west coast of Scotland to relax and escape city life. I only have to travel for less than an hour to my weekend home, something that would not be possible in London.